ASIL Founds a New Interest Group on International Law and Technology

by Anupam Chander

Those interested in the intersection of technology with international law may wish to join a new group formed within the American Society of International Law (ASIL). Headed by Molly Land and Anupam Chander, the International Law and Technology Interest Group (ILTechIG) provides a forum for scholars and practitioners from a variety of international legal fields to exchange ideas about technology’s relationship to international and transnational law. The group is also led by Paul Berman (Co-Chair Elect) and Greg McNeal (Secretary/Treasurer)

Technology poses increasing challenges for international law. For example, international trade treaties must grapples with questions of data flows, privacy, and digital products and services. The emergence of cyberspace challenges traditional conceptions of both civil and criminal jurisdiction. The laws of war must grapple with the development of warfare through drones and the difficulty of identifying state action in the online realm. International environmental law faces advances in nanotechnology, deep seabed mining, space technologies, and even the possibility of geo-engineering. Technology also plays an important role in human rights and humanitarian law, ranging from the use of mobile phones for delivering health services to mapping human rights abuses or disaster response. ILTechIG will help create a focal point for discussion of these various issues.

The group will host a scholarly roundtable at Tillar House (ASIL’s headquarters) in Washington, D.C. on Monday, April 8, 2013, following ASIL’s Annual Meeting. One does not need to be an ASIL member to attend the roundtable, though there is a modest registration fee to defray the costs of meals.

The following papers have been selected for presentation at the April roundtable:

Margot E. Kaminski, Yale Law School
“Copyright Crime and Punishment: The First Amendment’s Proportionality Problem”

Uyen P. Le, UC Davis School of Law
“Online and Linked In, ‘Public Morals’ in the Human Rights and Trade Networks”

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